As I took a bite of the strawberry parfait that was placed in front of me, I couldn't help but smile as I tasted the sweetness in my mouth.
As expected, sweets are life, sweets are justice, sweets are happiness... but also diabetes and belly fat. If only we could eat good things without worrying about the consequences, that would be great.
"You know, I didn't expect that you'd still invite me to come here with you." I said as I looked at Ichinose, who was sitting in front of me, looking at the cup of coffee placed in front of her with thoughtful eyes.
After afternoon classes ended, Ichinose invited me to the cafe she'd mentioned, as we originally planned. However, since we planned to talk about the S-System's hidden rules. But thanks to Hoshinomiya's… No, the Chairman's initiative, there was no longer any reason for us to maintain this arrangement, or at least that's what I thought.
"So, what do you want to talk about?"
"Kokonoe-kun, what's your thoughts about what we learned about?" She said and I wasn't really surprised by her words.
After all, what we learned about the S-System affects both our next three years at this school and after graduation. It's natural for her to be curious or even worried about it.
Looking around, I saw that the café was quite deserted, much to my surprise, given how soothing and calm the place was. But it works to my advantage because I don't really have to hold back my words with nobody listening in.
"I have to admit, I'm a bit surprised by the manner this school operates, especially about both the competition and the expulsion. But when you consider that this school was established by the Japanese government to nurture young elites that will support the country in the first place, it's not that shocking that they have high standards about us."
"You're right, but I can't help but think they're going too far. I mean, I understand they want the best from us, but why would they make us compete, creating a system that could create tensions between classes, not to mention the expulsion..." Ichinose said as she clenched her fists, seemingly in frustration with her voice becoming more and more lower as she spoke.
"So, you think that the competition is a bad thing?" I asked, causing Ichinose to look at me with puzzled eyes.
"You don't?"
"I understand your point about the harshness of the system and its potential to create unnecessary tensions between classes, especially when the reward for being at the top upon graduation is very attractive."
I haven't considered going to university because I can't afford the administrative fees, preferring to find a relaxing job instead. But now that I've learned that the school will not only offer us free admission to the university of our choice, but will even pay for our studies if we graduate as students from Class 3-A, I feel ready to spend a few more years studying if it means getting an even more comfortable and better-paid job.
"While it's true that competition could be seen badly, with the losers likely becoming upset by their competitor's successes and not receiving the same reward, there's one fact that defines the value of competition and will never change, it's that it improves the quality of contestants."
"Quality?" Ichinose muttered while I nodded and proceeded to share my thoughts with her.
"Competition strengthens the desire to win and, in fact, improves the overall quality of what both competitors have to offer. This is true for everyone, including students, businesses, employees, and even regular people, at social events like chess tournaments. This is the reason why I believe the school decided to place a class ranking. By making other classes our rivals, they want to inspire us to push ourselves to new heights, driving each of us to excel both in our studies and activities."
Hearing my words, Ichinose remained silent as she seemed to think about them while I took a sip of my juice to ease my sore throat.
It's been a while since I haven't spoke that much, I can't say I'm used to it.
"Of course, there can only be one winner, or one victorious class in this case, but that doesn't mean the losers will see their efforts in vain. I'm sure the fact that they graduated from this notoriously difficult school will look good on their report cards. Even if they don't get a special recommendation from the school and their studies aren't funded, they'll be fine as long as they put in the effort."
But if they don't and get expelled as a result, they only have themselves to blame.
"I guess it's better than nothing." Ichinose could only mutter, her face slightly dark before she slapped her own cheeks, surprising me as I blankly stared at her as she let out a cute whine.
"I don't like it, but I think I have no other choice but to accept that it's how this school works. It's not like I can ignore or change the system."
Technically, you could but it would cost you an arm and a leg.
"And, what are you planning to do from now on?"
"Well, I think I'll try to get to know our classmates better for now. Since we'll be spending the next three years as classmates and will have to work together, I think building deeper bonds is best for better teamwork." Ichinose said as she joined her fingers together, a hopeful smile on her face, making me slightly smile as well.
"I guess it's a good way to start the year." I said as I ate the remaining part of my parfait, finishing it.
I'm sure that, for the social butterfly that she is, it'll be an easy task for her, and she's already on the right track. I can already see her taking over the class by the end of the week, just with her kindness.
She's a sweet kid, so I don't need to worry about her.
Well, while she does that, I should think about my next plan.
Although it's great that we learned everything about the S-System, giving us an advantage compared to the other classes, it won't last long because they'll eventually learn on their own, be it by searching for clues in the school like I did or by next month with their homeroom teachers informing them.
I'd better make the most of it... Oh, I know. Since they are bound to be aware of the entire S-System anyway, there's no reason I shouldn't sell them the information before their homeroom teachers tell them, especially if I can steal some points out of them.
Although I managed to buy the information for only 500,000 points, or rather 12,500 points since the whole class contributed, the original price was 2 million. I could easily sell them for a million, and I'd better do it through a contract.
It'd be bad if they tried to imitate me, so I should limit their actions, like putting some conditions like "No reselling of information" and "No informing other classes of anything related to the S-System" with expulsion as penalty.
I think this should cover any potential loopholes. Just in case, I'll ask Hoshinomiya for advice when I ask her to provide me with some blank contracts.
Now the question here is when should I sell them the rules.
For Class A, I think I should sell them as soon as possible. If they're really as good as they claim to be, it won't be long before they discover the hidden rules on their own, like I did. So, it'd be best for me to strike first.
However, the downside is that I'll have to make the deal in person, which means revealing myself to the entire Class A. Honestly, it's a bit troublesome...
"Hey, Kokonoe-kun, what are you thinking so hard about?" I blinked when I heard Ichinose speak, breaking me out of my thoughts as she looked at me with curiosity.
"Oh, I was just thin..." I started to say, ready to say some kind of bullshit, but I quickly stopped as I looked at Ichinose's face for a few seconds before I let out a grin, having a new idea in mind.
"I'll tell you tomorrow, it would be better if I told the others too." I said, causing Ichinose to let out a small pout, as if upset at the secrecy while I enjoyed the feeling of teasing her.
It's fun to tease a kid. That said, I should get her and the class to help me. Even though I won't earn any personal Private Points, the entire class will, which could help me gain trust points with my classmates. And if I have Ichinose or someone like Kanzaki to initiate the agreement with the other classes in my place, they won't pay any attention to me.
Sorry, but I'm going to make you work for me for my own good.
"Oh, by the way, Kokonoe-kun, it's almost time for the club fair to start, do you want to go together?" Ichinose asked, looking at the wall clock, prompting me to do the same and saw the time displayed on it.
If we left the cafe now, we should arrive at the gym around 4:30 p.m. Yeah, it's a good time to leave.
I then nodded to Ichinose as we both got up from our seats and went to the cashier, ready to pay the bill.
"I'll pay. Consider it my apology for involving you during my little Q&A with Hoshinomiya-sensei." I said as I paid for the both of us, swiftly scanning my phone.
"You didn't have to do that, but thank you, Kokonoe-kun."
"Don't worry about it, I'm just being selfish."